Page 59 of House of Ruin
Andro wasn’t gonna let this one go so easily. Fortunately, Gael approached them right before Andro could say anything else.
“These roasted elephant beetles are amazing,” Gael observed, crunching on a charred piece of the insect. Another few lay on the blue napkin in his palm.
“I bet,” Blaze said, smirking.
That guy was all looks and no brain.
There was a slight scowl on Andro’s face as he watched Gael devour the canapé like he hadn’t eaten in months.
“So,” Blaze cleared his throat. “How about you Andro get the lovely Mariana’s attention off me so I can do what I need to do? And Gael is the perfect guy to go and gossip with those girls from the Dragons over there.” Blaze jerked his chin towards the group of girls gathered around the piano, wearing matching hoodies with the House of Dragons’ sigil on the backs. “They look the type to know all the gossip.”
“You are exceptionally charming tonight, I must say,” Andro said.
Blaze shrugged.
“Alright then.” Andro cleared his throat. He grabbed Gael’s wrist, dragging him along and said over his shoulder, “Make it quick.”
Andro weaved through the crowd, towards Mariana. When Andro spoke to her, her attention slipped away from Blaze, and he used it as his time to act.
Blaze turned towards the shelves, sliding a finger over the spines as if he were truly interested in the tomes.
Finally, he picked one in the very far corner, an old textbook on herbs and antidotes, and slid it out of its place.
When he opened it, a moth flew out of its pages, leaving a trail of dust as it fluttered deeper into the room.
The book’s pages were crumbled, stained from years and years of use, the text faded in some places, illustrations of plants missing in certain parts.
Through his lashes, Blaze glanced at where Mariana had been before. Her back was towards Blaze now as Andro had somehow managed to turn her around. They were occupied, and so were the rest of the guests.
Gael stood with the group of girls from the Dragons, a wide smile plastered on his golden face. Soon, a wave of laughter passed around their little circle, and one of the girls leaned closer to him to whisper something into his ear.
When Gael caught Blaze looking, he winked.
“Maybe he has more to him after all,” Blaze murmured to himself.
Blaze slipped a hand in the inner pocket of his jacket, fishing out the tiny golden coin with a snake coiled in the middle of it.
As he turned the page with the hand that carried the coin, he casually slipped it between the pages.
Immediately after the coin touched the paper, Blaze muttered a quick chant under his breath and slid his index finger over the corner of the page.
A thin red line appeared, blood soaking through the fresh cut. Blaze brought it to his lips, sucking on his blood, and the coin melted with the pages, leaving only a tiny snake symbol on the page.
Satisfied, Blaze snapped the book shut and placed it back in place.
When he caught Andro’s eye over Mariana’s shoulder, he winked.
Blaze rose to his feet and stretched. Val had instructed him to place coins inside each major room in the Rats’ home where they’d be the most willing to discuss important matters.
The library was one.
Now he had to do the same in the lounge room or dining room.
Slowly, Blaze left the library and the witches’ chatter behind to enter a corridor. On the opposite side lay a double door with windows instead of panels.
It was a good thing the layouts of most houses in Darly were pretty much the same.
Blaze twisted the bronze knob and entered the room. It was a lounge room with green velvet sofas and an old fireplace.
